Game Preview: Checkers at Lake Erie (April 15, 2016)

Though their playoff destiny is now out of their hands, the Checkers can still greatly increase their odds of making it by winning their regular-season finale in Lake Erie tonight.

Here are nine things to know about the game, which can be seen at tonight's watch party at Queen City Q's uptown location. If you can't make it, the game can be purchased on AHL Live or heard for free via a link on this website or the Checkers' official app.

1. PLAYOFF PICTURE

The Checkers’ 3-1 loss in last night’s game against the Monsters was certainly a blow to their playoff chances and caused them to fall behind the idle Barracuda for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. A win tonight would put them back in the lead, but the Barracuda would then have a chance to surge ahead for good in their last two games, a home-and-home against Stockton starting Saturday.

The simplest way to explain the scenario is that San Jose will make the playoffs if it earns more points over the course of its final two games than the Checkers do tonight. Should Charlotte get a win, it could clinch a spot if San Jose loses Saturday or at least ensure that it stays alive until Sunday. Anything less than that will give the Barracuda a chance to wrap things up on Saturday.

2. BAD TIMING

The Checkers’ current streak of four consecutive regulation losses ties the longest active streak in the league (Springfield) and is their second-longest of the season, eclipsed only by a run of five straight from Jan. 30-Feb. 10. The earlier streak included Charlotte’s last two meetings with Lake Erie prior to this week.

3. LINEUP NOTES

Thursday’s game saw four new players enter the lineup: forwards Andrew Miller, Nicolas Roy and Valentin Zykov and defenseman Ryan Murphy.

Miller, the Checkers’ active leader in goals and points with Derek Ryan out due to injury, had missed the previous eight games with an upper-body concern. Meanwhile, Zykov made his Checkers debut after recovering from an injury of his own suffered prior to his acquisition from the Los Angeles Kings organization, Roy, a 19-year-old Hurricanes draft pick in 2015, made his professional debut after signing an amateur tryout contract with the club last week, and Murphy played for the first time since Carolina reassigned him following the end of its season.

Despite still missing Ryan and five others due to injury (forwards Dane Fox, Blair Jones and Brendan Woods and defensemen Danny Biega and Rasmus Rissanen), the Checkers still had four healthy extras for last night’s game. Should coach Mark Morris choose to make a change, forwards Erik Karlsson and Andrew Poturalski and defensemen Tyler Ganly and Zach Miskovic are available.

4. MISSING RYAN

Thursday’s loss dropped the Checkers to 0-5-0 when playing without their captain and leading scorer, Derek Ryan. That includes the team’s last three games and also a pair of home losses to Grand Rapids on March 4 and 5. Ryan, who suffered an injury while playing for the Hurricanes last week, is also not likely to be available tonight.

5. REST ADVANTAGE

While playing back-to-back games is no easy task, the Checkers will still hold an advantage in tonight’s game compared to Lake Erie, which will be playing for the third time in three nights. Charlotte out-shot the Monsters, who started the stretch with a Wednesday road game in Grand Rapids, by a 12-6 margin in the third period of last night’s game, earning three near-consecutive (yet ultimately unsuccessful) power plays in the final 12 minutes.

Lake Erie is locked into the second spot in the Central Division bracket and will play either Grand Rapids or Rockford in the first round of the playoffs, depending on how those teams finish.

6. SHUGG STEPS UP

Including the Checkers’ lone goal last night, forward Justin Shugg has found the back of the net in each of his last three games. That marks his longest streak of the campaign and is just one shy of tying his career high set in 2014-15 and also Ethan Werek’s mark for the longest posted by a Checkers skater this season. Shugg is now part of a four-way tie for fifth on the team with 13 goals.

7. MURPHY RETURNS

Murphy, who had not played for the Checkers since Feb. 28, picked up where he left off with a power-play assist that extended his assist/point streak at the AHL level to four games. The Hurricanes’ first-round draft choice in 2011 and AHL All-Star last season now has 23 points (7g, 16a) in 31 games this season, 15 of which have come on the power play. He has 64 points (10g, 54a) in 81 total AHL games over the last four seasons.

8. MUSE BOUNCES BACK

Though he was ultimately not able to get the win, goaltender John Muse turned in a solid performance by hitting the 30-save mark for the second time since rejoining the team on Feb. 29. Muse, who has played in 18 of a possible 20 games for the Checkers this season, has a 2.08 goals-against average and .918 save percentage for Charlotte this season. He is responsible for each of the team’s last nine victories.

9. POWER OUTAGE

Though Shugg’s goal came on the man advantage and gave the Checkers some life early in the third, the team’s costly struggles down the stretch were the culmination of a frustrating period that has seen it score just four man-advantage goals in its last 15 games (7.8 percent). Over the course of this slide, the Checkers have fallen from second in the AHL (21.3 percent) on March 13 to their current position of seventh (19.1 percent).

Meanwhile, the Checkers have allowed a power-play goal in three consecutive games and are killing at just a 73.9 percent rate (17-for-23) in their last eight.

Charlotte has had a particularly tough time on special teams against Lake Erie this season, with their 10 percent success rate on the power play and 70.4 mark on the penalty kill in these match-ups among their lowest against any opponent.